‘We can’t have a world in which bureaucracy can’t keep up with innovation,’ says BMS VP & GM

As Australia heads into an election period, Owen Smith, Vice President and General Manager of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) ANZ, has called for urgent policy and regulatory reforms to ensure patients have access to innovative health technologies.

“Nobody from any political party should be satisfied with that sort of a gap in performance,” Smith said, emphasising that delays in timely access to medicines hinder optimal patient care. “That vicious circle can’t continue.”

Recent feedback from the PBAC and MSAC Chairs to the HTA Review report recommendations have been met with disappointment, particularly given the inclination for the Department of Health to maintain the status quo. Additionally, one of the key concerns raised at a recent patient summit was the lengthy three-year implementation plan expected for the reforms.

“One thing the UK has got better at in recent years is recognising both the innovation and the economic benefit that the industry can bring to the country,” Smith stated.

Drawing on his international experience in the UK, Smith highlighted the opportunities Australia has to drive meaningful health reform. He pointed to the PD-L1 pan-tumour approval model as an example of innovative policy-making that could be implemented locally.

Despite the Federal budget being projected to be in deficit for the next decade, Smith argued that the “wider societal economic upside needs to be properly weighed in the system” when considering investments in novel health technologies.

As the election approaches, Smith urged policymakers to prioritise reforms that will modernise Australia’s healthcare system because “there’s a real opportunity to fix things for the future.”

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